Learning English
by Zepphyra.Snow.Storm
Summary: Alfred has been dating Arthur ever since World War 2. They have a "Special Relationship." This is simply a general truth, whether speaking politically, economically, militarily, etc. Alfred is confident that the situation is the same in their personal lives. But is it? He learns the hard way that there is more to the grumpy bookworm than meets the eye. UKUSUK. Bad summary, sorry!
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: web comic, anime, merch etc. as well as the characters in this fic belong to Himaruya Hidekaz. The story as well as any OC's are my own. **_

**I'm starting another story! Yay! :D So this is my second Hetalia fic, and the 1st one with an actual pairing...**

**Some things to know: —I'm trying out a new writing style. First person present tense, which will give it sort of a stream of consciousness kind of feel... Sort of. Kind of.**

**— Since I'm writing from Alfred's pov, it's not my usual writing style, aka I sound like Alfred. Get it?**

**— I'm working on 3 other fics at the moment... updates will be slow in coming, but they will always come. So don't you worry your pretty little head!**

**Overall warnings for this fic: This fic is rated M for smut, language, alcohol abuse and (minimal) noncon. Possibility of light BDSM is still being considered.**

**Warnings for this chapter: language**

**Enjoy~! **

**Zepphyra~**

* * *

This situation… It's interesting.

"And that concludes the meeting today. You're all dismissed. Damn it, Gilbert!" Ludwig turns angrily to his brother, who is a few seats down the table.

He's sitting next to Arthur. And the anti-social bookworm is being hit on. Yes, he is being hit on, _by Gilbert Beilschmidt_.

It's a _very_ interesting situation.

Of course, Arthur looks pissed. When does he not? But the thing that's getting me right now is that it's not the "get the fuck away" kind of pissed, it's the "stop that, this is embarrassing" pissed. The fact that he's putting up with this instead of punching Gilbert in the face, and is just docilely gathering his documents into his briefcase, is somewhat shocking to me.

"Hey," I say, coming up behind them. Arthur can take care of himself, and I trust him. But my hand still wanders to rest lightly on his lower back. Just because. "Ready to go?" This is… irritating, to say the least.

I always stay with Arthur when we have any meetings in England, unless of course I need to be back right away. So we're heading back to his home together.

Arthur sighs before he replies to me. "Yes… But I hope you don't mind going drinking tonight." He says it as though he's reluctant to do so.

I shrug rather apathetically. "I don't care. With who?"

"Me." Gilbert butts in with a mischievous grin plastered onto his face.

"Not only this bastard, but Carriedo and the frog as well." Arthur adds despairingly.

I understand exactly where he's coming from now. "Oh." I say, unsure of how else to reply.

"Yes… But," Arthur stops talking when the trio begins to leave. "Hold on, the three of you!" He shouts in his teacher voice. "I have to warn you about something. I was already planning on drinking with… one of my brothers tonight."

Francis raises an eyebrow. "Oui? Which one?"

Arthur rubs his forehead in weary annoyance. "That fucking skirt-wearing sheep shagger…"

"Oh! Scotty's coming?" Gilbert hums excitedly.

Francis nods in approval. "It'll be nice to see Allistor again…" I grimace slightly. His smile is way too lecherous.

Arthur rolls his eyes. "Whatever. We're going to the usual place, alright?"

At this, Arthur promptly drags me out of the room.

"This is a disaster." He was saying. "The last time that that damned frog had any long-term contacts with Allistor, the idiot tried to help him rebel against me! Me, who has ruled his lands for years upon years! But it serves that bloody cunt right for being such a sodding bastard to me when I was but a young little pagan nation. That damned—"

"Arthur." I interrupt him mid-rant, trying to ignore the fact that he just said the forbidden c word. "Shut up." I pull him over to me in a one-armed hug and kiss the top of his head. "Chill out. You need to un-bunch your knickers, and let loose a little. Everyone needs to do it sometime."

Arthur throws me an irritated sidelong glance. "I hardly believe that you know what you're talking about." He mutters.

"What do you mean? Of course I—"

"Just how much do you think that you know about me?" he snaps suddenly. "Maybe if you took the time to try to get to know me better, I wouldn't seem as one-dimensional as you apparently believe me to be."

Oh. So he's going down that road, is he?

"Well, maybe if we actually tried to spend more time with each other that might be possible for me." I reply moodily. "And I could be complaining about the same thing right now, but I'm not! Your ritzy fucking ass doesn't know me at all. Maybe at one point you used to, but not anymore." I know that this stings him. I can see it, plain as day on his face. But I don't care. His accusations are going to be met with my accusations, as they should be.

… But maybe some things should be left unsaid. Maybe this time I did go a bit too far. As he stomps off with his briefcase, I start to think. What if we did spend more time together? A weekend when neither of us are working, or a holiday that we share. We haven't done that since… well, since I was one of his colonies.

A sigh escapes me. Well, that's sort of what tonight is, I suppose. It's a Friday night. The start of a weekend. So… I guess the boss wouldn't begrudge me this weekend in England?

"What's wrong?" Someone asks quietly from behind me.

"Who the—Oh, it's you, Matt." I sigh again, and he raises an eyebrow.

"It's highly unusual for you to be down about something. Talk." He throws an arm over my shoulder as we walk to the exit.

Honestly, I'm a bit hesitant to tell him. He's my little brother, but that doesn't mean that he would understand.

"How well… do you know Arthur?" I ask tentatively.

"Huh?" The question had obviously caught him off guard. "Why?"

"Just… is there anything that you know that I don't know?"

Matthew sighs and rolls his eyes. "Alright. What did he say this time, eh? Did you two fight again?"

"No, well," I start to deny it, but… what was said, it's making me think. "I don't know if it was a fight or not. I feel like I said something bad to him… We feel like we don't know each other anymore, and I don't know what to do about that. I don't know what he wants." I shove my hands into my pockets and scowl. "If I'm perfectly honest, it does kind of hurt, him saying that I don't even know him. But well, all we've really been doing since the first Great War is having sex. We barely even have conversations, and when we do, we're usually fighting… and we're supposedly dating?"

"Well… Maybe Gilbert knows, eh." Matthew suggests.

"Probably." I scowl as we get into a taxi. "You really should watch him, ya know?"

"What do you mean?"

"He was hitting on Arthur."

This causes both of Matthew's thin, blonde eyebrows to arch suspiciously. "Well, that's irritating."

"Tell me about it."

"But," he says slowly, turning his head to look out the window. "I trust him. He was probably just playing around like usual. He does that—him, Antonio and Francis all do that."

I nod, but I nudge Matthew's mind back onto the real issue. "But listen, Arthur just sat there and took it, which is really weird for him, know what I mean? And why would Gilbert of all people do that in the first place, to Arthur of all people?"

"Huh. Good point. Well, maybe we can ask him later."

"You ask. He actually treats you as an equal." I grumble.

"Eh? What do you mean? Does he not respect you?"

"Nah…" I reply dejectedly. "He calls me 'scout' and treats me like a child. When he isn't treating me like a child, he treats me like a military subordinate. It kinda sucks."

Matthew's eyes become huge. "You let him order you around?" He asks slowly, clearly in shock.

"Well," I shrug, slightly embarrassed. "Not really… but yeah. I mean, he was the guy that trained me before I broke away from England, ya know? He's like… super strong and cool! Despite his massive personality flaws I really admire the guy…"

"Hmm… Ya know, I'm just going to ignore that comment on Gil's personality… But otherwise, should I be at all worried?" Matthew throws me a suspicious sidelong glance.

"What?! Eww! Nah, man, he's way too kinky for me! I mean I can do kinky but he's fuckin' hard core, like S&M and all that other strange shit, man! You can keep him, bro!"

Matthew laughs out loud as the taxi slows. "Well, this is me. I'll see you—"

"Hey!" I call, stopping both him and the taxi momentarily. "Come to the usual bar tonight, everyone's hanging out there!" I bid him farewell with a smile and a wave as he walks off into a lovely high rise hotel.

* * *

I didn't expect Arthur to already be at home when I arrived. Well, he did leave earlier than I. He was already rifling through his closet like a madman, trying to choose his clothing for tonight.

"We're going to fix this!" He says, with an excited gleam in his eye. "We're going to get to know each other better, starting tonight!"

I sigh, grabbing his arm and pulling his body into mine. He glances up at me in surprise, perhaps about to speak, before I place a soft kiss on his lips. I hug his body tightly to mine, and rest my head on his shoulder, turning my face into the soft skin of his neck.

"I'm sorry." I murmur, brushing my nose against the soft hair of his neck.

He's roughly shoving me off of him, sputtering nonsense mixed in with obscenities. I can't help but smile a bit.

He holds me at arm's length and stares at me for a moment. I'm not sure what he's thinking, but his lips curve up into a very dangerous, feral smirk that almost scares even someone like me. But then I dismiss this look as just being the lighting.

"You're going to find out some things about me tonight, Alfred." He murmurs.

Fuck. He's using his bedroom voice. Why is he using his bedroom voice? Why?

He swiftly grabs a bundle of clothing and some other things off of our bed and flies into the bathroom.

"Don't come in!" He calls out to me.

"What are you, a girl?!"

A small groan of frustration escapes my lips. Maybe that's what he meant when he was saying that we'd fix this… that I'd learn something new about him tonight.

In bed.

I don't even know.

I pull off my jacket and toss it on the floor, before tugging off my tie and loosening my shirt around the collar. Damn, I hate meetings. It means I have to dress up. I sit on the bed and unlace my dress shoes. These are really pretty comfortable though, and I like this brand.

Come to think of it, on a completely different train of thought, I've never hung out with Arthur after a meeting like this unless it's just around the house…

So something might be different, indeed.

As I look toward my suitcase, it hits me.

"Artie," I call sheepishly.

"What!" He grouses.

"Umm… I kinda need to go out to get another change of clothes,"

"What?!" he shrieks.

That wasn't a flinch, that was just a muscle spasm! I swear! "Uh—err…"

"Well, nothing for it, then." Arthur says in exasperation. "We'll go shopping when I'm finished readying myself."

I sigh, looking at myself in the mirror. Well, I look good enough to go out again. My shirt is still tucked in, and only a couple of the buttons at the top are unbuttoned. Arthur shouldn't scold me too much… After all, this is how he shows up to less formal conferences. The hypocrite.

"You're slow, old man." I mutter.

"I can hear you!"

I'm pacing now. When were we meeting again? I know we're not anywhere near being late yet, but it bothers me not being able to remember the time. Did I even get a time?

"Hey, Arthur, was there even a time set for tonight?" I feel a scolding coming on.

"No, you git! Did you _hear_ me set a time?"

Woah. Sass, much? I roll my eyes and flop on the bed.

"Alright…"

The door to the bathroom is flung open wide with a bang, making me jump.

"Get your arse off of my bed!"

… Well, fuck me sideways with a shot gun.

I see something very hot in front of me. I do, I do. I mean, can those jeans get any tighter? How hard did he have to work to get them on? Is he wearing anything under them? Probably not…

Just… the way that those jeans accent the curves of his legs… and his ass… and _that_…

"Oi. Earth to Captain America." He snaps his fingers impatiently in front of my face. "You have plenty of time to ogle when you're walking. Now _move_."

My eyes slowly come back into focus on his face. Are those…

"You have _piercings? _The fuck is this shit?!" I'm pretty sure I'm beginning to get a sensory overload.

I see an industrial, a tragus, and three ear lobe piercings from the left, and 3 helixes and four ear lobe piercings on the right. Damn right I know my piercings! It's just not my thing, personally. Well, okay, I had one once. Once! As in it's gone now! But _shit!_ He's even got a lip piercing (Thank God there's only one, I don't fucking know about kissing him with that thing…) and a fucking nose piercing! What the fucking hell!

Arthur merely rolls his eyes at my shock and awe. We're already downstairs. I didn't even notice. But he just looks… So _him_. I've never seen him so fully in his element before…

Unless of course, we're talking about back _then_.

"You—your hair." I manage to stutter only once. "It's green?"

"Rather, I rinsed it in the sink to reveal green streaking, yes."

… He's just so perfect. I try to get a look at what shoes he's wearing, but we're walking out the door now. As he locks it, I take the chance to look down. And he's wearing black and white high tops. Awesome.

"Woah. Dude, when did you get your lip pierced? How come I didn't ever notice this shit?!" I'm honestly confused.

"It's because I wear retainers where necessary. But since my lip is healed completely, and has been for years, I only wear a retainer to meetings. With you, I take it out… And you never see me in casual dress, other than pajamas. So… you simply never see this sort of thing... Actually, I may have sort of been going out of my way to hide this from you." He finishes quietly.

I love the way his studded and spiked leather jacket clings to his body. It really gives him an edgy look, without being too biker-ish.

… People are staring.

I don't think I realized until tonight just how… alluring and truly striking Arthur really is.

"Okay, here we are." I jolt slightly at the sound of Arthur's voice near my ear.

"Where?"

"This store is the one that I think you'll like best."

"Um, no way, bro." I shake my head. It's like, an English version of Pac Sun or some shit. I may be blonde and American but I'm not a hipster or a "surfer boy". I swear to all things American, if he tries to get me to Hollister… That's shit's way over-priced.

"Wait a sec," I stop him as we walk down the street. "What about this place? …Urban Outfitters? This looks good!" I head inside.

"Wait, Alfred, I'll have to help you with the sizing!"

As soon as I walked in, though, I found it. It's a white t-shirt, but there's blue in it, so Arthur won't bitch about it not matching my eyes. That's the first good point. The second good point is that it's Star Wars. There's Bobba Fett and Darth Vader, and honestly, it's really funny. The funniness is another good point. I show it to Arthur, who just rolls his eyes and picks out the correct size for me. This shit's still way over priced. But it's less… prep school than Hollister. Not that I'm totally hating on that store. But Pac Sun (which I just dissed) has better jeans. I shake my head, willing myself back onto the current situation. Woohoo! ADD!

"Let's go and get you some pants, then…"

A feeling of dread suddenly washes over me.

"Um, Artie?"

"Yes, love?"

"Why… are all of the jeans so tight-looking? I don't see any that I might be able to fit in…"

Arthur sighs. "Because that's just the type of store this is. But look, we don't have time to be going to a different store right now, time's getting on. Now pick some jeans."

Ugh. Pressure. But I don't really care which ones, so… "Okay, these." I say, pointing to a pair of rather tight fitting, grayish jeans.

"Now shoes…"

"Shit! I need socks. Do I really have to buy socks, too?"

Arthur smirks. "I hardly find buying such a thing necessary. So I brought you some of mine. Now pick some shoes… But there's not much of a selection, unfortunately."

Hmm. What to pick… Oh.

"I like those."

"Oh, honestly! Can't you just get some other type?"

"No."

They remind me of my own boots back home. Only, these are suede, and… they're not boots. At all. But really! They look like them!

Arthur sighs. He is supremely annoyed.

"Argh. Fine. I'll get another pair of shoes…" But only because I don't need something so similar to what I have already.

So I pick some blue high-top Vans from the small bunch of shoes and turn to Arthur moodily.

"These good enough for you?"

He crosses his arms and leers at me. The ass. "I really want to see you in those jeans."

We check out, and leave the store, me being the only uneasy one out of the two of us. Arthur is gonna do something else tonight… Not just this whole, 'oh yeah, I'm actually a total punk' but also something else… He's being sly. He's not acting too much more different than usual though. It's me that's being overly suspicious… I should just shake all of this off.

"Hey, Artie!" I call. He's seriously getting ahead of me. Not good! "Where am I gonna change my clothes, huh?"

"Tube station toilet."

"Why can't we just walk to the pub?"

He gives me a look. "Because it's too far, you twit. You and I _could_ walk it, but it'd take much too long."

Well, then.

People are still staring at Arthur as we go down the stairs into the subway station. So honestly, now I _am_ feeling a bit possessive. It's been going on for a while, and there's only so much I can take. I slip my arm around his waist, hugging him a bit closer. I don't look at him, but I hear him make a small noise, probably of embarrassment. I try to use my peripheral vision to see if he's blushing… I think he might be.

"What the hell, Alfred?" He mumbles.

"You're really hot. You have a ton of sex appeal. I already knew that, but… Seeing it outside of the bedroom, and seeing others respond to that sex appeal is a little…"

Arthur huffed. I can't tell if he's annoyed or embarrassed.

"Alright." He stops the both of us. "Here, the men's toilets. Now get in there and change, I'll wait here."

"Hell no! You're coming with me."

"Wh—why?"

I lead a baffled Arthur into the bathroom with me.

"You can use the toilet yourself, I hope?" Arthur's brow raises a tick, and a smile plays at his features.

I scowl. "Of course I can. Geez! I'm just changing, anyway!" I just want him to be close, so that I know if anyone is making a move on him…

So I stuff all of my dress clothes into the shopping bad and throw the new clothes on. The t-shirt is really comfy. But the jeans… They're a bit… snug?

I feel slightly self conscious stepping out of the stall. The heat in my face grows as Arthur takes a once over.

"Hmm." He pulls me to that area by the door where there are sinks and stuff. "Look at yourself."

I don't really want to. But I do anyway.

Honestly though, I like what I see.

"Turn around, here." Arthur murmurs, adjusting my body a bit. "Just look at that ass."

Now I'm watching my face turn bright red incredibly fast. Wow, that's not a fun thing to do.

"Embarrassed?"

Where the fuck did this Arthur come from? Is he gonna rape me? Ha. I almost have to laugh at the thought of Arthur topping anyone.

"Come." He's saying, leading me out of the bathroom now. He gestures to the array of subway trains. "Ours will be arriving soon."

… I have to ask. I can't fucking take this any longer.

"What the fuck is going on?"

Arthur smiles innocently. "Nothing, dear. I'm out on the piss, as usual."

"…What?" I think I'm stunned.

"Ugh. You twit! I'm out to get plastered, sloshed, drunk as fucking get out!" He crosses his arms with a scowl.

I swear, this guy's facial expressions change every second. I love it.

"Oh!" He exclaims. "The tube is here."

As we step onto the train, I feel someone groping my ass.

"—The fuck?" I spin around, only to see Arthur with a mischievous grin on his face.

He's sure being a pervert, today. Is he usually like this? Thing is, I don't know what's usual and what's unusual for him at all. All I know is his break room snarkiness, his dinner time manners, his sex face, and then the morning after stuff. Which occasionally was a bit awkward.

I suddenly feel like I don't belong. Because maybe the distance is a bad thing. I'm strong, and I'm the dominant one here, this was just assumed. I don't know what I'd do if he actually tried to make a move on me… I mean, trying to push me down into submission or something. If I ever got a dick shoved up my ass, my pride wouldn't be able to take it.

But… maybe everyone else over there on mainland Europe knows way more about my Artie than I do. It kind of… makes me mad. I hug him, which startles him slightly.

"Honestly, what's with you, you big oaf?" He asks in mild irritation. But he doesn't push me away.

All I can really make myself answer with is, "I really don't know anything about you."

* * *

**I posted the next chapter along with this one! Yay! Go read the next chapter :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**I thought I'd post the next chapter at the same time as the first chapter, just to get everyone a little more into it (since idk when I'll be posting chapter 3...)**

**Stuff to know:— It seems like there's a time skip, and there is. But Alfred will be remembering what is happening to him.**

**— When Alfred is thinking back to the past, he is still in the present. This is not a flashback. So the tenses will come and go (a lot) between past and present. If you find that I switched tenses for one sentence, it's probably on purpose.**

**— Thoughts in past tense will be italicized. All other thought and speech will be **normal like this. **I also italicize words that are to be emphasized, but, this being common enough, I'm sure you can figure out with context clues which is which. :P**

**This chapter is supposed to be a little... It's supposed to put you off a bit. Alfred is remembering things that happened when he was drunk. So everything is a little... off, we'll say? Give me a chance with the next chapter to show you that I don't suck at writing XD But no really, this chapter is supposed to feel a bit chaotic and confusing. So if you feel that way, I'm accomplishing one of the things I've set out to do with this chapter. :)**

**Hopefully this makes sense to you when you read it! It makes sense to me, but I'm the one who wrote it, after all!**

**Warning: language, alcohol abuse, drunken seduction—eyebrow style**

**Enjoy~!**

**Zepphyra~**

* * *

As the morning sun breaks through my eyelids, I awaken with the realization that I have a massive headache. Really, really massive. How could I have a hangover? I'm never hungover. I have an alcohol tolerance almost as good as Ivan's… Did I possibly drink that much last night…?

Ugh. I slowly try to sit up, mindful that Arthur is still sleeping next to me. I need some pain meds, like, yesterday.

FUCKING MOTHER OF MARY—LYN MONROE! SHIT! FUCKING BULL COCKS! CHARLES MANSON!

My ass.

My ass. My ass. My ass. My ass. Oh, dear God! It hurts!

After very slowly and gingerly laying back down, I stay very still, taking deep, slow, calming breaths. Gradually, very gradually, the pain is dissipating. My mind is numb as my head slowly turns to face Arthur.

It was him… wasn't it?

What exactly… happened last night?

Okay. Calm. Think. Let's just regroup here. I close my eyes. Let's retreat, regroup, and start from the beginning. Let's recall everything that happened… from the time we got to the bar. Hopefully… I can remember to the end of the night…

"Dude!" I shouted excitedly. "Toni! You're already here!"

"Ah, si." Antonio smiled at me. "Hola~."

"I would expect you of all people to come later, ya know?"

"Well~ it's not as though there was a time set in the first place. But, I haven't been here long."

I sat down at the bar beside him and ordered a drink. Arthur sat next to me as well. I still couldn't quite get over his punk get up. There were just so many piercings… Not that that was necessarily bad… His shirt was very, very sexy. It was a black muscle shirt, kind of baggy, with that classic Rolling Stones mouth. It looked like he cut the shirt up himself. He even had a black leather cuff… Wait. Hold the fu—

"Artie," I called his name sweetly, so he didn't suspect my question.

"Yes, love?"

"When the fuck did you get a fucking tattoo, hmm?"

Suddenly, he looked very embarrassed. "Oh, umm…" He stuttered. "I got it in '85…" He muttered.

"How the fuck did you hide it all this time?!"

"Extremely expensive cover up cream. It's water proof, too!"

"… So you keep it up?"

"Well, of course!" He answered indignantly. "Don't act like my having a tattoo is such an odd thing. You have a full fucking back tattoo!"

"Yeah… But mine's... meaningful. Your's is a guitar, Artie."

"Bu—but th—that's ju—personal preference! You're being prejudiced! You're saying that my tattoo means nothing!" Arthur was having a bitch fit and it was hilarious!

I laughed out loud, in fact, before leaning in closer. "I think it's sexy." I murmured. "I also like where it's placed… Right along your hip bone. I feel like it might be pointing toward something?"

His face kept getting redder and redder.

"Oh, are you two starting up your amour so early this evening?" A French accent.

I turned around, an affectionate grin on my face. "Francis!"

"Bonjour, mon cher. I must say, you look exquisite." He leaned in a bit too close for comfort, but I effectively avoided him by reaching for another pint.

"Thanks."

And then the bicker and banter began. I swear, Arthur and Francis cannot be in the same room for five minutes without getting into an argument. I drummed my fingers on the bar. I was rather unnerved. I was unnerved at the change in Arthur that I sensed, but I was also unnerved due to the current atmosphere. Tch. And they say I don't pay attention… But I knew that Arthur couldn't focus on his argument with Francis. That's not normal for him. His comments were half hearted, and I could tell the Frenchie knew too. Something was off.

"Hey," I started. "What's wrong?"

"Yes, mon cher, you do not seem to be yourself right now."

Arthur looked away scowling, and grumbled something.

"Huh?"

"I said—"

"Oh, hullo." A new voice—a new accent—suddenly joined what was quickly becoming a throng. "I didnae ken**[1]** there'da be so many people. Were ye tryna make this inta a party, Arthur?"

_The hell? Who's this guy?_

Okay. I immediately gauged his strength as a country. Not too strong… But… there was something. He was… very, very intimidating. Like, if you ever got into a one on one fight with him, you'd be sorry. Not that I'd be sorry, since I'm a hero. (Obviously.) But the gist of it was that I didn't know how I should feel about him. He was beatable, but he made me uneasy. Still, I casually glanced over at him, since it would seem kinda weird if I just never acknowledged him.

I saw Scotland.

._.. Well, who else could fluster Arthur this badly?_

"Bonjour, Allistor." Francis smiled at him flirtatiously.

I sighed. _Here we go again._ And there was Antonio next to me, already tipsy and grinning at the situation as though he was gonna get something out of it. The idiot. But he's a nice idiot… Most of the time…

"Hmm, I'll order a… an imperial stout. Ye got one on tap? Ah, yeh, tha's a good 'un. Thanks, lad!" Allistor threw a smug glance at Francis, and then asked Arthur, "So laddie, how yer sex life dain?"

Arthur whipped his head around to look at Allistor, his mouth agape. "What?!"

"Oh, it's good." I answered for Arthur with a grin.

"No." Allistor glared at me, and then turned back to Arthur. "Dae talk mince, lad. Top or bottom?"

"Ah.. err…"

Allistor rolled his eyes at the obvious answer. _Of course Arthur is on the bottom!_

"That's a sin. Ye didnae use tae be sooch a sook**[2]**!"

I glanced at Arthur in question. I know Scottish jargon pretty well, but I didn't really get what this guys was trying to get at. Arthur wasn't much help, of course. His brother was all he could look at.

Allistor must have noticed my apparent unease. "Look'ere, lad." He said. "Why dinnae ye goan an play with yer friends?"

Okay, I'll confess, that put a deep scowl on my face. But that frown was turned upside down when I saw Matthew and Gilbert strolling into the pub.

"Hey! Mattie!" I called him over. "What's up, dude?"

He sidled up to me immediately and murmured, "Now, while we have Arthur distracted. Do it."

My eyes widened slowly in understanding. Gilbert's thin, white eyebrow twitched upward in mild curiosity and I dragged him and Matthew over near… I should have never brought them near that karaoke machine. Damn it all to hell. Ah well, what's done is done, I suppose.

"Umm, what's up?" Gilbert asked.

I sighed, attempting to mentally prepare myself. "So." I started. "Um… I'm not trying to yell at you, I just want you to know that…" At this, Gilbert becomes a bit more serious than his usual self. "Um, you were messing around with Arthur earlier today… I don't really know how to word this question, suddenly, but Arthur is… just Arthur. I know you love Matthew, but what interest could someone like you ever possibly have in someone like Arthur?"

As realization of what I was asking dawned on him, the albino smiled knowingly. "You want to ask about what you missed out on, huh? And I bet this whole rebellious, dark side of Artie is a big surprise to you, too! Kesesese~!"

I rolled my eyes in irritation. _Everyone knows about Arthur, damn it. No one was surprised at how he looked tonight except for me. _"Just, please get on with it."

"Kesese~ Alright. Well, there was a time when all of us countries had to have sex with each other!"

"Wait what?!"

"Kesesese~ You should see the looks on your faces! Not all of us together at once, you idiots!" Gilbert leaned forward in his seat. "Now, listen carefully to the history lesson the Awesome Me is about to give. I'm only givin' it once!" He took a swig of his beer before beginning. "Once upon a time, there was a tiny little pagan island. This bitch of a lady, Brittania, lived on it. Crazy bitch. She had four sons: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. England had it bad, really bad. He was always bullied by his brothers and by other countries in mainland Europe. But he was a really hard worker. He was a bitter little asshole that resented the fact that he was weak, so he became strong. And suddenly, he's driving Rome outta his land. He gets stronger and stronger and conquers more and more land, and then before you know it, you get the saying, 'The sun never sets on the British Empire.' You knew all this. But what you didn't know is that alliances and annexations and Scheiße like that were done by fucking the other participating country. It was usually the stronger fucking the weaker, unless another arrangement was preferred. And Artie was doing a lot of fucking back in the day. I mean, you kinda know how it is since you had to do it with France. But Artie did it with a hell of a lot of people. And some of them, it may not have been just a one night stand. An example of a real romance would be Lizzie and the young master." Gilbert took another gulp of beer. "Anyway, Artie's a bad ass, and is pretty fuckin' scary when he wants to be… He's also an _awesome_ S! Kesesese~"

I think I purposefully blocked out parts of what Gilbert was saying.

"Not only is he enough to satisfy even _my _kinks, but remember that he's just as proud a guy as you are. And… his sexual prowess rivals Francis's by like, a lot." Gilbert winked lewdly at that.

I didn't like thinking about Arthur with someone else.

"Oh, yeah!" Gilbert exclaimed. "If ya wanna know what he was like as a young nation, just ask Francis! I dunno if you'd wanna ask Scottie…"

I wasn't that curious, though, so I didn't ask.

_Oh wonderful, the bitchy Italian has arrived._

"Stupido fottuto bastardo**[3]**! I told you to order my damn drink. Where the fuck is my drink, huh?"

"Aww, don't be like that, querido**[4]**. I ordered it just now! Look, Lovi, a karaoke machine!"

_Fuck. I see where this is going._

I got yet another drink to prepare myself for the room bursting into song. Hey, I love parties. But when you bring in singing, I'm done.

_Luckily for me, though, it doesn't seem like anyone's going for it just yet. As long as no one asks me to sing…_

"Hey~! Fratello~! You didn't wait for me~!"

_Oh, it's Feliciano! _"Hey, Feliciano!" I exclaimed happily. _I actually really like this kid._

"Ciao~, Alfred." The cute little Italian smiled happily and waved at me. "Ooooh~! A karaoke machine!"

_Fuck. My. Life._

"Hey." I said to Feliciano. "Where's your big scary German?"

He frowned. "Ludwig doesn't like to spend the night in other countries if he doesn't have to… unless it's my house, or Austria's house."

_Huh. That's odd._

Arthur was still chatting with his brother. He looked like he was being scolded for something. I decided to go over, since I had nothing better to do.

… But I stopped when I heard the conversation, deciding at that moment it was best to just keep my distance. "Allistor, you know that I can't do anything… I mean, even if I do say something—"

"Ye have more power than ye let on, I ken that, fer sure." Allistor growled.

Arthur put his head down on the counter wearily. He muttered something that I couldn't hear, and when he looked up at Allistor again, there were tears shining in his eyes.

Arthur is not a cry baby by any means. It takes a fucking lot to do that to him. So, of course, this pissed me off. I walked over then and (gently) slammed my hand onto the counter between the two, causing a surprised reaction from the both of them.

"What the fuck are we here for, to sit here and talk, or to have fun?" I asked.

"Actually, I'll be leavin'." And with that, Allistor very abruptly stood and walked out the door.

Arthur pouted grumpily. "Francis kept interrupting our conversation. He was hanging all over the bloody ginger!"

I snickered, but then I asked, "What were you talking about? You seemed fairly upset..."

Arthur massaged his forehead. "Political things. Allistor is never happy. Neither is Daniel—Ireland—for that matter. But what can I do? I can only do so much, and then it's all up to Parliament… Of course I suppose it's ultimately up to His and Her Majesties to decide, but of course if _they_ began issuing and rejecting laws willy nilly there'd be a public uproar… Anyhow, the rest is simply advising, on my part… It frustrates me because… because, he's my elder brother, do you understand? I just…" He started to choke up a bit, and I put my arm around him. "It wasn't _my_ decision to annex Scotland, in the first place..."

"Holy fuck!" Lovino yelled, making me jump slightly. "Hey, bastardo, there's a shit ton of songs on this karaoke machine!"

"Dude!" Gilbert exclaimed. "Lemme see!"

Arthur snorted, immediately back to his usual self.

"Fuck!" Lovino violently twisted his body around and pressed his back to the machine. "It's the eyebrow bastard! Antonio!"

I rolled my eyes. _He just now noticed that Artie is here? This _is _his favorite bar…_

Arthur's grin became feral. "Don't worry, poppet, I won't bite _this_ time."

"Stop it, Arthur! Caray, lo que un pendejo**[5]**..." Antonio growled in irritation.

"Or you'll what?" Arthur mocked. "I'm not even doing anything to him!"

"Hey~! Can we please not fight?" Feliciano prodded gently.

"Oh, sorry little Feli." Antonio apologized tamely.

_How many glasses of brandy have I had now?... Let's switch to something else. These old farts are giving me a headache... But I've already had enough beer... Hmm..._

"So," I said to Arthur. "What kinds of songs do you have on that thing?" It looked pretty high tech, what with that touch screen and all. It made me curious.

"Oh, you know. The basic karaoke songs. I own this fucking pub, so I put whatever the hell I want on there. So there are a lot of songs that I know I and my brothers like on there, as well as the popular shit and things like Elvis, Michael Jackson and The Beatles, and whathaveyou… Basically it's a very odd mix of my iPod and popular karaoke."

I nodded. _Interesting._

A loud noise drew my attention away from Arthur. Francis and Antonio were clanging wine bottles together, like they were toasting or something. _Drunk bastards. _Antonio actually fell off of his bar stool. Francis groped blindly in front of him as though he had tried to stop the Spaniard from falling, but it didn't matter anyway. Antonio caught himself and... it was weird. Either I was really that drunk or Antonio actually landed on his feet and stood up, and never fell...? I don't even know.

"Who's going first?" Gilbert asked excitedly, pulling Matthew back into his body. A huge blush spread over his cheeks at the albino's nonchalant action.

"Me!" both Italians shouted in unison. But interestingly enough, Lovino relinquished his claim to Feliciano. An interesting relationship, those two have. (Dude! I just went all Yoda! Ha! I'm so awesome! The force is with me, dude!)

"So, how are we going to do this?" Arthur inquired. He said the words slowly, contemplatively.

He was… scheming. It's never good when Arthur schemes.

Antonio twitched an eyebrow up in confusion. "¿Qué?"

"What the fuck are you talking about, eyebrow bastard?" Lovino growled from behind Antonio.

"Well," Arthur sat down in a lounge chair in front of the karaoke like some of the others were doing. He crossed his legs and threw one arm over the back of the chair. "What I'm thinking we'll do, is we play this like an American game of truth or dare."

"… Wait, wait." I said, rather confused myself. "Explain better."

Arthur sighed, taking a sip from his bottle of… whatever the hell _that_ was, and said, "I was going to explain, you twat. So, say we form a circle. Alfred, don't give me that look."

"But… the last time you told me to form a circle with you, a spirit appeared and I couldn't sleep alone for months~!"

"Don't worry, you nancy, there'll be none of that this time 'round." Arthur smirked. "So say we formed that circle. What I'd do is turn to the person next to me, and tell them to sing a song I pick for them. Then they will say what meaning, if any, it has to them personally. If they know the song they'll do this before they sing it, and if they don't they'll do this after."

"What the fuck?!" Lovino shouted angrily. "How is that fucking fun? This isn't a fucking sleep over!"

"Just do it, Lovi," Antonio implored.

"Ugh."

We formed a bit of a circle in the lounge chairs (which were _very _comfy, by the way), and then Arthur said, "Okay, we'll go clockwise to make this simple. So, Feli, who is on your right?"

"Ve~ big brother Francis~,"

"So France will start off and ask Feliciano to sing a song, after looking through the ones that we have."

Francis smirked. Suddenly Antonio pulled him over and whispered something to him, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Francis walked over to Gilbert and said something to him as well, to which Gilbert nodded. _Oh, well._ I guessed, at the moment, that Francis wanted his two best friends' approval of what he had in mind. But then he walked over to actually pick the song out, and I realized that he hadn't even looked at the playlist yet. Feliciano was of course blissfully ignorant of the situation.

"Ahh~ little Feli~," Francis called. "Big brother would like you to sing "Untitled", by Simple Plan."

"Ohh, that band made a hit in my country a couple years back!" Antonio exclaimed excitedly.

"Why the fuck do you have Simple Plan on this thing?" I muttered.

Arthur simply shrugged. "Merely because people enjoy their stupid, self-pitying songs. Nothing more… But I can't believe the frog is making Feli sing this song in particular…" the Brit made a face. "I feel… a bit nervous, suddenly."

Feliciano smiled brightly. "Ve~ I don't know this song! I'll sing it, and then I'll tell you if I think it means anything to me, okay?"

We silently nodded. An uneasiness was growing in the pit of my stomach. I really, really did not want to see Feli's sad face. I _don't understand… Is Francis a sadist or something?_ I looked at him in question, but he kept a poker face, simply shrugging me off.

"I open my eyes,

I try to see but I'm blinded by the white light.

I can't remember how,

I can't remember why

I'm lying here tonight." Feliciano's voice was so sweet and soaring, yet so mournful and fitting of the song.

"Everybody's screaming

I try to make a sound but no one hears me

I'm slipping off the edge

I'm hanging by a thread

I wanna start this over again.

So I try to hold onto a time when nothing mattered.

And I can't explain what happened.

And I can't erase the things that I've done.

No, I can't

How could this happen to me?

I've made my mistakes.

I've got nowhere to run.

The night goes on

As I'm fading away.

I'm sick of this life.

I just wanna scream.

How could this happen to me?"

As the song finished, rather than seeing tears in his eyes like I thought I would, Feliciano looked irritated.

"Francis, of all the songs to pick! You big meanie!"

"Cheap entertainment...?" He grinned sheepishly.

"You're such an ass!" Feliciano fumed. Well, I say that loosely. He was irritated, for sure. Believe me, I've seen him in much worse moods… Although, it is rare to hear Feliciano curse. "So... This made me think of Holy Rome. It also made me think of the mafia, WWI and WWII." He leaned toward Francis with his big brown puppy dog eyes. "Ve~ I want to be able to enjoy this night with my friends, you know~? So don't be mean, per favore**[6]**."

Francis nodded, running his fingers through his soft blonde hair. "Oui, oui, Feli, frère is sorry..."

Feliciano timidly peered over at Arthur. "Ve~ Signor Kirkland~ do I ask big brother Francis to sing now?"

"No, not quite. You ask the person to your left."

"Oh! Then, Gilbert~!"

The albino narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why do I feel like something bad is about to happen to me?"

"Because something bad _is _about to happen~." Feliciano replied in a sing song voice.

Feliciano only looked at the song list for a moment. "Found it!" he exclaimed happily. "You are singing "Hallelujah", like the one from Shrek, ve~,"

"Huuhhh?! How completely unawesome! A Disney song!"

"Ehrm, Shrek isn't really Disney, eh..." Matthew quietly piped up, "Actually," he said a bit louder. "It's originally by a Canadian. The copyright is from 1985."

"And it's not Disney, damn it!" I chimed in irately. "It's DreamWorks Animation! Geez, get it right, bro,"

"Ja, like I give a flying buttfuck!" He sauntered up to the stage and moodily grabbed the mic. "Everybody listen to the Awesome Me! Pay attention Sie dumm Fick**[7]**!" Gilbert took off his shoe and threw it in Francis's face.

Why is my little brother dating this guy? Someone, please enlighten me.

"Ja, gut**[8]**!

I've heard there was secret chord,

that David played, and it pleased the Lord,

but you don't really care for music, do ya?"

When Gilbert started to sing… I don't know if I liked it... Actually no, I _do_ think I liked it...

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah,

Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

Your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof

Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you.

She tied you to a kitchen chair

She broke your throne and she cut your hair,

And drew from your lips a Hallelujah."

It was off key, but it's odd because he was on-key to his own music. If that makes any sense. He was putting so much into that song. I wouldn't think he'd be into music... But who knows? I've heard rumors hear and there about a certain special flute...

"Maybe I've been here before,

I know this room, I've walked this floor

I used to live alone before I knew you.

I've seen your flag on the marble arch

Love is not a victory march

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah."

I think that… if he ever made any of his own music… He does have a very powerful voice…

Anywho. Thinking back, those lyrics were pretty meaningful to me, as well. As I sat there listening to Gilbert's voice, I felt myself... almost sympathize with the lyrics a bit. I feel that I can understand them. This song is so going on my iPod the next time I have a chance.

"What this is to me… is Elizabeta... and perhaps others. It's… my pagan religion being thrown out the window for Christianity, and then even those Christian foundations being shaken. It's about Crusades, and wars. It's about love, and trust, and friendship, and how those things are so fleeting, and are worn away by time. This song is basically… everything that I know to be true about love. It's uncertain, and painful. I guess that's the best the Awesome Me can really describe deep shit like this. I was never the deep thinking type in this field." An evil smirk appeared on his face as he slowly turned to Antonio. "Toni." Antonio visibly paled a shade or two. "Toni, Toni, Toni."

"Erm, sí?"

"Hmm… I'll have you sing… 'Candy Man'!"

I burst out laughing. I couldn't help myself. I do like that song, though. As it happened, Arthur happened to like that song as well.

To his credit, Antonio walked up onto the little stage with his shoulders squared. He grabbed the mic and sang with gusto, as if the song was made for him.

"I met him out for dinner on a Friday night.

He really got me workin' up an appetite.

He had tattoos up and down his arm.

There's nothin' more dangerous than a boy with charm."

The entire time the Spaniard was up there, Lovino was blushing like mad. Antonio was _really_ laying it on thick, and his lover certainly didn't mind… Honestly, I didn't mind either. He ain't bad looking, okay? Not that I have a thing for him, don't get the wrong idea. That would be… It would just be a bit weird, I guess. Antonio is just so… well, Antonio. There's no other way to describe that guy.

But anyhow. After Antonio was done, he immediately chose a song for Lovino. I grinned. I knew this would be good.

_The bitchy Italian will so hate this…_

And hate it, he did. He about threw a fit when Antonio picked "A Thousand Years". It was almost too much. It's a cute song, though, and I like it…

If I ever get over _this—_what Arthur did to me—maybe… he and I… should have our own song—something cute like "A Thousand Years"… I'd kind of really like that… Something a normal couple would do…

Fuck my ADHD.

I couldn't even hear Lovino when he was singing. The only time he's actually cute (like Antonio is always saying he is) is when he's shy like he was last night. He was blushing brightly, and couldn't look directly at anyone, and looked as though he desperately wanted to hide behind something. But he didn't necessarily look unhappy. It's times like these when I can _almost _see why Antonio loves the guy. Almost.

But then, people will say the same about Arthur and I.

So then after Lovino ended (it was a bit of an abrupt ending, he actually dropped the mic), Matthew went. He actually ended up sitting next to me, for some reason. _Weirdo. Go sit next to your boyfriend_. Lovino honestly looked at a loss. He didn't know Matthew, so he had absolutely no idea how to pry into his personal life with a song.

So he haphazardly went and picked out the worst possible song for my baby bro—"Pet", by A Perfect Circle.

I had to ask. "So," I lean over to Arthur. "Why is _this_ song on there?"

"Like I said, lots of my own personal preferences. Not only is this pub my local, but I own the damn place. I do whatever the hell I want."

"Ah. Got it."

"Alright, Vögelchen**[9]**, you got this!" Gilbert called after Mattie as he took to the little stage. "Belt it out up there!"

… It's always the quiet ones.

"Don't fret precious I'm here, step away from the window.

Go back to sleep.

Lay your head down child,

I won't let the boogeyman come.

Counting bodies like sheep

To the rhythm of the war drums.

Pay no mind to the rabble,

Pay no mind to the rabble.

Head down, go to sleep,

To the rhythm of the war drums."

I literally sat in my chair, stiffer than Roderich Edelstein's personality, watching Matthew sing this perfectly.

"I'll be the one to protect you from

Your enemies and all your demons.

I'll be the one to protect you from

A will to survive and a voice of reason.

I'll be the one to protect you from

Your enemies and your choices, son.

They're one in the same

I must isolate you,

Isolate and save you from yourself.

Swayin' to the rhythm of a new world order

Count the bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums.

The boogeymen are coming

The boogeymen are coming

Keep your head down, go to sleep, to the rhythm of the war drums.

Stay with me

Safe and ignorant

Just stay with me

Hold you and protect you from the other ones

The evil ones

Don't love you son

Go back to sleep."

... But I should've known he's capable of singing even a song like _that _perfectly, since he's related to _me_. And I'm pretty awesome at singing everything.

"Um," Matthew murmured once he was finished—a drastic change from the voice he was using while singing. "I don't really know why, but this song makes me think of the Seven Year's War… Also of the American Revolution."

"Hey, hey!" I protested, "Why me?"

"Because... I had to fight against my brother and my Papa," He smiled sadly.

_Well, I guess _that _will give me something to think about later…_

So at that point it was my turn. I got a mischievous look from over Matthew's shoulder, which I didn't really like. I was right to not like that look. Because he was looking for a specific song. He made me… sing… "Breakfast at Tiffany's"… Not that that's a bad song, just… the situation was too…

That devious bastard knew exactly what he was doing, too, it was all over his face while I stood there like a deer in the headlights!

Ahh. But it's okay. He could've picked a much worse song, now that I think about it... He could've picked something that'd hurt Arthur... like something that made me think of my Revolution or something. Not that I'm not proud of that! It's just that I don't really like to see Arthur's face when that subject is brought up...

"This song… has sort of a personal meaning to me, right now…" I glanced at Arthur. What I was saying simply spilled out through my lips without a filter, and honestly, I can't believe I just said all this. I must have been fairly intoxicated at this point… "I feel like Arthur and I are on the border line of simply becoming sex-friends at the moment. We threw it in each other's faces just earlier today that we don't even know each other anymore. But did we ever know each other? What do we like? What do we dislike? What do we have in common? Not as countries that get along well, but as individual beings that care for one another, even if country relations go sour. Matthew picked this song out cuz he already knows too damned much." I glared at him before starting to sing.

Of course, I had lost sight at that point of why I had not wanted to sing in front of people that knew me. Ever. When I began to sing, they were enthralled (of course they were, not everyone can get a hero to sing for them). But Arthur looked very troubled by something. In the middle of the song I realized that, oh shit, my English was showing.

It's unfortunate, but I sing with an English accent. It sounds unlikely, but this was how I spoke right from the get go. "American" was an acquired speech for me, as it was for everyone else who came here and raised generations of families. Somehow, people just stopped with the "English" and it became "American", with all of the various dialects and all. I could get into how that works, but that's just my ADHD showing up again. Which is not cool. I need my meds, man.

"So..." Arthur began, trying to wrap his head around my accent.

I shook my head, not willing to talk about it at the moment.

After that... I comb my fingers through my hair and close my eyes, willing myself to concentrate for just a bit longer. I'm already through most of the night, so I can do this! But it's getting harder and harder to remember…

Even with as hard as it is to remember from this point, hearing Arthur sing is something I always love. Of course I can remember this part. I picked the song "London's Burning" for him, simply because he looked like he needed to sing something like that. I really wanted to hear him sing something like that in his punk get up.

He got up to the mic, grabbed it up with an irritated yet somehow sexy expression, saying, "This song doesn't mean anything at all to me." Then he hit play.

"London's burning! London's burning!

All across the town, all across the night

Everybody's driving with full headlights

Black or white turn it on, face the new religion

Everybody's sitting 'round watching television!"

Even when Arthur is singing a song from The Clash, I still love to hear his voice. He's wonderful. His voice is so sexy, and so mellow, yet… it can sound like this, too. I feel like he can mold it in so many different ways.

When his round was up, he kicked a very drunk Francis up onto the stage. Really, we were all pretty drunk at that point. Francis was forced to sing an awful song. Truly terrible. "Purple Rain", by Prince. Arthur stood there snickering. I think at the time, even as drunk as I was, I died a little bit inside just hearing the song.

But now I remember. That was the whole point of this, damn it! It's starting to get a bit hazy, but I remember that this is when the touches started. Innocent at first—an "accidental" brush here, a hand laid there—but then they became more purposeful.

I think… I'm not really sure, but I think most of us went somewhere else. I don't think that the Vargas brothers came with us, but I think we went to a club at some point. No, yeah, we _definitely _went clubbing. Because the beat was heavy and pounding, and the bright strobe lights, and lack of room to move…

… And that small matter of Arthur constantly groping me on the dance floor…

No. Wait. I have to focus. What exactly happened? A soft groan of frustration manages to escapes my lips.

My body freezes up. I sense movement next to me.

Slowly… I turn to look…

He's sleeping. I exhale the breath that I was holding and try to return to my thoughts.

Okay. So. We enter the club, we all go up to the bar, but Antonio and Francis go to the dance floor. Arthur and I sit at the bar throwing back shots for… I'm not really sure how long.

Suddenly, I receive a mental image of Arthur's bright green eyes glowing with mischief and excitement as he took my hand, dragging me onto the dance floor. Whatever happened to him being such a lightweight, huh?

At first, we were just dancing. I remember that. But then suddenly the beat dropped and shit got really dirty, really quickly. And it just escalated from there… But I still don't even know how I got home!

No, Alfred. Calm yourself.

The beat dropped, and then… Arthur started really dancing hard against the front of my body. It wasn't quite grinding... But it was enough to make me (stupidly) grab at him. Instead of letting me catch him, Arthur grabbed my arms and pulled me into him. With both of our bodies moving to the heavy beat, it was... pretty intense. At that point, I was getting really turned on. His eyes were glowing in the dark, burning through my body with a wild, untamed glow that I don't think I'd ever seen before. He grabbed my hair, yanked my head back and shoved his tongue in my mouth. He'd never usually take the initiative for anything. I remember feeling like this side of Arthur—this dominant side—was a turn on. He grabbed my ass with the hand that wasn't pulling at my hair. Suddenly, he roughly jerked me around so that he was actually grinding my ass like I was a girl or something! I mean, what the hell… Then when one hand started messing with me _down there _ and one hand went up my shirt… yeah… I can't remember after that… All I remember is Arthur's voice at certain periods of time from last night… I'm not sure when from, but I know we were probably having sex. I also remember his eyes. But then again, his eyes are a very memorable feature.

So. This is cool. I can't remember being fucked up the ass for the first time. I hope the bastard at least sucked me off once. He never does that for me. Shit. I can't believe this.

Double shit. He's waking up.

Arthur's eyes slowly flutter open. "… Meri?" he mumbles. His eyes are still unfocused. He looks… so sweet, and innocent, and vulnerable. Just like any other morning.

But it's not any other morning.

"A—Alfred!" he cries, still in a daze. "You—you're smoking! A lot!"

"Hmm," I don't really say anything. I don't know what to say. Now that Arthur's awake, what is there to say? He fucked me up the ass. That alone is humiliating, but I can't even remember it.

I can't manage to look at him. Not even when he grabs the cig hanging out of my mouth and sticks it in his.

"None for you." He grouses.

He gets up and goes into the bathroom, while I continue to lie on the bed. I still can't move, but I'm not asking for his help, either… I also don't want to yell at him for fucking me up the ass, and then have him look at me like I'm crazy. That would be pretty embarrassing.

"Hey." Arthur pokes his head out of the bathroom. "You alright? Shouldn't you be getting up if you're already this awake?"

I can't stop the snort that escapes me. And, well, _something_ is obviously dawning on him by the look on his face.

"I'll be right back." He says.

Surprisingly quickly, he's back with pain pills, water, and black coffee. I always drink black coffee when I have a hangover. I blush a bit. I'm a bit touched, honestly, that he knows this about me. Especially since I never get hangovers.

We don't say anything. Arthur is looking down, and I can't see his eyes. I have to see his eyes to be able to tell what he's thinking. Even if he's expressionless, his eyes give him away. It's part of the Celtic blood in him. He can't ever be _truly_ expressionless.

Suddenly his bold emerald eyes shoot up to meet my own, and my breath catches in my throat.

Arthur looks… guilty, mostly. Confused as well, but also satisfied with himself, and perhaps… a bit aroused? It's a mixture, that's for sure.

"Uh, hey." He starts off awkwardly. "I'm… sorry. About last night."

"Yeah, well you should be." I interject, with less hostility and more childish petulance than I'd wanted.

"I am!" he insists. "You…" Arthur sighs and hops up on the bed. "At the very least, if I were going to do that, it should not have been when you were totally plastered."

"You shouldn't have done it at all" I growl. "Is that what you were planning the whole night?"

"No! No, I wasn't! Honestly, I wasn't planning this at all! Really, Alfred… I'm lucky I even remember what happened last night!"

"Yeah, well, I guess I'm lucky, too. 'Cuz I don't remember a thing."

* * *

**A/N:**

**1) _ken—_know**

**2) _sook—_a big softie; Basically, Allistor is saying that Arthur is always bending to Alfred's whims, never imposing his own. He's aiming to please :P**

**3) _Stupido fottuto bastardo—_Stupid fucking bastard**

**4) _querido—_sweetheart**

**5) _Caray, lo que un pendejo—_Geez, what an asshole**

**6) _per favore_—please**

**7) _Sie dumm Fick—_you stupid fuck (It also means dumb fuck, but I think stupid fuck sounds funnier XD)**

**8) _Ja, gut—_Yeah, alright**

**9) Vögelchen****—Birdie: Gilbert's pet name for Matthew :)**

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**Okay! So! I feel like this completely sucked! Actually, I know it did. But the next chapter will probably be better. Probably. I mean, writing-style wise.**

**IMPORTANT: I don't know when I will be posting another chapter. However, I WILL post another chapter. I'm about to start my first ever semester of college in a couple weeks, as well as take on my fourth fanfiction (this being the 3rd one I'm currently working on) so I'll be a busy little beaver! I'll also be trying to get an on-campus job to get money! XD Busy busy busy! But I'll make time for this!**

**Check out my profile for any updates on the fics I'm working on. I post how far along I am on the chapters that I'm working on.**

**I will be posting a poll on my profile after another chapter or two of this fic, asking ya'll which pairing you guys think I should do next. The way this is going to work is, I'll finish this fic, leaving certain things unresolved, and continue it in another fic called "Learning American". It'll be from Iggy's perspective. :D Then I'll type up the next one... It might be PruCan, GerIta, Spamano, AusHun(with the frequent appearance of Gilbert XD)... Maybe another one that I'll be revealing in this fic :D**

**If you're pursuing my profile, feel free to check out my Beta profile! Or pm me! Or both!**

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**REVIEWS=LOVE! YOUR FLAMES BAKE MY CUPCAKES~! I'LL RESPOND TO ALL REVIEWS IN THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT CHAPTER! :D**


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